A Kunoichi in Konoha
by Ozzallos
Summary: Bereft of friendship and guidance, Naruto falls back on a familiar crutch, only to find salvation where he least expects it. Divergence, fem!Naru, read the forward notes!
1. Chapter 1

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Forward: _While this story is not a lemon per se, it will not shy away from said elements should the plot call upon it. That said, take this as forewarning. If you are easily offended by such material (and sorry about the initial misrating), just skip the prologue for chapter one. For the rest of you, I hope you enjoy._

* * *

**A Kunoichi in Konoha**  
_By: Ozzallos_

**Prologue**

**L**ife was good, Suko decided as he let his hand play along the silk of the woman's yakata, tracing every curve of her generous body. Sure, he was working for what amounted to a homicidal megalomaniac who would just as soon rip your face off in order to study the reaction as he would praise your work, but the pay was good. His hand wandered up her torso, easily reaching into the loose folds that encased her ample breasts. The hand then slid in, finding the fleshy nub it was looking for with a light pinch. The raven beauty's breath caught up suddenly and she relaxed into his chest with a slight shiver.

…Not to mention the benefits package.

Lustrous waves of jet black hair shifted as she leaned her head back into his shoulder while he worked, teasing the nipple gently. Her body heat radiate into him as she squirmed under his hands, fueling his own need in turn. Around him, the rest of his team were enjoying the benefits of the successful mission as well. Kiromura was enjoying the attentions of two women- a blonde and a brunette –while bald Nasi toked on a long pipe lazily. Sheba had already retired a back room to play with the boy toy she had found, and Cho…

_Fucker's already passed out in his own vomit,_ Suko rolled his eyes at the sight of the unconscious mercenary, nearly a dozen depleted mugs of ale arrayed around his head on the table. His attentions at the prostitute's breast had stalled with the survey, causing her to protest by pushing her rear deeper into his lap. The nin smiled as his interest was forcibly drawn back to pale goddess in his arms. She smiled lazily and arced back far enough to nibble on his ear. The movement likewise ensured her considerable assets strained against the red and black silk that held them.

_Oh, hell yeah._

If he wanted to be brutally honest, they had gotten lucky. Damn lucky, but then he had always been good at playing the waiting game. That was part of the reason Kabuto-dono continued to retain his services, after all. Under the right conditions, the Uchiha kid was a match for any one of them, if not _all_ of them; conditions hadn't been about to oblige. The pompous child spent his team like tokens and once they had fallen—

_Lick._

Liquid heat trailed down his neck as the woman's tongue played artful designs down the side. Her rhythmic breathing against his chest had turned into a subtle rocking motion, its slow, deliberate grind allowing him a taste of things to come just as her tongue already had. His boss may have been a monster, but he was a monster that acquired only very best. Equipment. Weapons. _Women._ The one in his lap for example- What was her name? Uni? Uno? –was easily half his yearly salary.

_Per night._

Likewise the pair in Kiromura's arms. Goddamn if all of them weren't Oiran, and tonight he was about to see if half the things said about them were true…

…In a more practical setting.

The nukenin slid his toned arm beneath the woman's shapely legs and scooped her up, standing in one smooth motion. She smiled and let her head fall lazily back over his arms, affording him an excellent view of nearly everything she had to offer. The yukata draped loosely across her in its new position, its silken neckline hanging onto her erect nipples as if they were the last anchor to her body. Nor could it hide her exquisitely pale legs any longer, revealing she wore merely the barest of undergarments in the form of fragile string tied about her hips. Midnight sheets of black hair hung from the other end, framing a seductive smile. She licked her lips with purpose and his manhood surged, suddenly reminded of the promise that tongue held.

"Do everything I would do!" Kiromura leered from his corner, fondling his own women roughly as they shared Nasi's pipe. The four were probably smoking a years salary worth of high quality seed between them. On Kabuto's tab, of course.

"And more," He returned headily, his eyes only for the woman in his arms. Blue-grey irises held him for a moment then motioned for the curtained doorway toward the back of the room. There could only be one meaning in her lidded, smoldering gaze and there was no misinterpretation on Suko's behalf.

Ten minutes and several articles of clothing later, Suko had found out that tongue was everything it was promised to be and more. No matter how much she sucked, licked and teased, no orgasm was to be had; such was her skill. Her oral service clearly served one purpose only… to stoke the fire raging within his loins to molten levels.

Another almost-orgasm.

Her crimson lips pulled away from his manhood, inviting a shining strand of pre-cum to stay on her tongue. It glistened magically and the nin trembled as the unspent energy begged for release, while the woman- still on her hands and knees -slinked around him and onto the extravagant pillowed bed of their chamber. Suko's eyes remained glued to the cat-like movement, watching her pick a spot then roll onto her back, leaving him no doubt that he had picked the best courtesan in the house. She was flawless.

And completely his.

The black haired mistress uncrossed her legs slowly, favoring him with a lazy smile that only invited one thing. Normally he was good with his women. He serviced them and was in turn serviced. He had a reputation to uphold after all. But this woman… this completely sexual creature lying beneath him had transfigured his libido into white hot need. Her legs were wide open now, inviting. The artfully trimmed hair of her temple glinted with moisture and the nukenin finally broke, pushing forward with feral intensity.

A hissed breath met his abrupt entry, followed by a purring moan as he took her without mercy, plunging in with wild abandon. Suko's awareness no longer existed in the realm of conscious thought as his brain devote more of its resources to the need of the here and now. Control was a thing of the past. The woman's foreplay had already pushed him well beyond that. _Now_ there was only tempo. Pounding. _Her erotic wail_. She was _squeezing_ him from inside… the rhythmic massage was…

The tension building within his manhood peaked abruptly, pleasure uncoiling with sudden release. The entire room seamed to waiver with the sharp intensity as the peak spent itself and the aftershocks took over… Suddenly, he was aware of HER. _Her_ pale skin glowing in the ambient lantern light. _Her_ smell… The scent of sex wafting around him like a cloud, all but compelling him to dip lower and run his tongue across the light sheen of perspiration that had built on her skin. Its tip ran up her ribs and up onto the orbs of her breast. The taste was _exquisite_. The nukenin's mouth found her nipple and rolled it around his tongue before continuing its tour of her body. Even the sensual edge of her own ragged breath had caught his attention undivided attention, prompting Suko to ensure it continued in that manner my any means necessary.

And he was hard. _So very hard_.

In fact, his manhood had never really faltered. She had just continued to massage him from within as he licked her, fueling his need one more. Her slow rocking began in earnest, and this time it was the whore who controlled the tempo... This time the pleasure was _sharper_. More _refined_. He could feel _everything_ she was doing down there. He watched her move in time with him, her exquisite breasts bobbing… Her carnal moaning doing indescribable things to him to his libido.

The tension mounted even quicker than before. Another peak, then absolute bliss.

The missing nin's eyes rolled into the back of his head as the newest tidal wave of lust and pleasure assaulted him. The reflexive aftershocks took over once again and he dizzied, yet she wasn't stopping. The pleasurable massaging within suddenly became a rhythmic pulsing, stoking the inferno's heat. She _radiated _lustin his eyes now as the pressure built again, her body taking on an absolutely ethereal sensuality. Her scent was ingrained into his memory like a drug, better than the finest seed imported from Wind country. He was high on her and she knew it, propping herself into a sitting position without ever leaving his rigidness unattended. The position was perfect. His lips trailed and sucked everywhere they could reach while she voiced her approval in a perfect symphony of desire. The woman brought her leg up and mounted it on his left shoulder, completely changing the dynamic of their activities. Blue gray eyes met his own. So _gentle._ So _caring._ Eyes for him _alon_e. This woman wasn't a whore or courtesan.

She was a _goddess_.

The grind continued nonstop and she held his gaze through their intercourse. She moaned. He gasped for breath. Her hands had snaked around his back and began to touch discrete points along the length of his spine. After five such touches something ignited within the nin, exploding in a lust-fueled pyre. Suko's eyes were open but he was no longer truly seeing; the assault on his senses was now as relentless as his partner. She leaned into his chest, coming fully into contact with his body, changing his position within her again while bringing him closer to the edge of his third orgasm. The goddess fucking him rested her chin on his right shoulder, breathing. _Warm. Moist. Ragged._ Suko unconsciously synchronized with her. Her caress slid up along his back again, touching more points. Her left hand found his inner thigh and an accompanying line of invisible chakra. She pushed her own into it and the man stiffened quite suddenly. Her grinding continued and she whispered in his ear.

"I _want_ you…"

A glimpse into the nin's brain would reveal endorphins being dumped wholesale into his brain as everything about the woman draped around him was indelibly etched into his memory, indefinitely associated with the most perfect form of pleasure that could be achieved.

Her leg slid off Suko's left shoulder and she guided him back onto the bed until he was on his back, assuming full control over their session. Her hands played across his body with absolute impunity now while the rocking continued to teeter him on the very edge of orgasm. The raven haired goddess, too, leaned into him, her perfect breasts flattening into his well defined chest.

The nukenin's face was nearly frozen in a trembling 'oh' and she whispered in his ear once more, hot breath caressing his lobe.

"I _need_ you..."

Suko's own rasping moans began to escape his lips quite involuntary and his partner hastened her pace, transforming his hardness to ridged steel. Her tongue trailed down his neck, kissing him as she mirrored the actions that he himself had performed only minutes ago. Her lips found his right nipple and began to suck on it, tracing it with a hot, wet tongue before biting it lightly. The nin's entire body shuddered beneath her. The tongue transverse over to the right nipple, leaving moist skin in its wake. The goddess paused just before enveloping it completely.

"I _desire _you…"

Another tremble. Suko whimpered, shivering uncontrollably. The woman finished her suckling and rode him harder. She_ glowed_ in his eyes, completely bathing him in her wanton desire. The raven haired courtesan was perfection incarnate and he would do _anything_ to remain in her presence. To see her. To smell her. To taste her. To have her _fuck_ him like this every single night of every single day for the rest of his life, nonstop. Those blue gray-eyes held him completely. Her smile was knowing.

"I _own_ you…"

She touched him lightly somewhere and the dam of pleasure that had been building for the last fifteen minutes didn't just break, it shattered, blasting a hole in his conscious that utterly and completely consumed him. Suko screamed. Maybe he screamed; he wasn't sure. All that he knew for certain was that the torrential waves of bliss continued to slam through his body. He bucked again as another orgasm wracked his organ, sending sparkling fire up and down the entirety of his nervous system. And still she wasn't stopping.

"I _control_ you…"

Another scream. Another orgasm. The universe was composed of only two things in Suko's eyes: The goddess riding him into sexual oblivion and her commandments. She just wasn't _a_ goddess. She was _his_ goddess.

"YES, YES, **YES**!"

His goddess above him smiled sensually and touched him with a single finger.

All conscious thought was obliviated.

* * *

**N**asi Ozawa was a conflicted man. Normally he was of the opinion that seed was better than sex. Seed didn't back talk. You couldn't get diseases from it, and on average, it was cheaper. The high lasted longer and he could take it anywhere.

_But._

The bald nin contributed to the nebulous cloud around him, exhaling smoke with a contented sigh. But whatever that bitch the captain had taken was made of, he want some, and now had a damn near permanent tent in his fatigues to prove it. The last of their sounds had faded nearly a half an hour ago and he was still hard just thinking about it. Nasi was pretty sure the place had thick walls for soundproofing, but they might as well have been tissue paper against their vocal performance, leaving _nothing _to the imagination.

Any woman that could do that to their captain was something he wanted a piece of. The man was a stone cold fuck, and if a whore could get him to sing like that… Nasi shook the thought away and rubbed his head, fingers tracing along a jagged scar of pale flesh long since healed. _Yeah, just this once_, he decided, amending his rule on women versus seed. _But until they come out…_

He untied a packet hanging off his belt, loosening the drawstring that held its contents in check. His other hand dumped the ashen remnants of its previous load into a clay ash tray and brought the implement up, dumping half a dozen tiny tan seeds into the pipe's mouth. Nasi packed them in with a thumb and with the other hand retrieved a simple match, striking it against the table. He leaned the chair back on two legs, propping himself against the wall as the pipe lit and smoldered. Smoke coiled from the curved opening and the nukenin took a long drag. A contented look settled over his face.

_Now that's the stuff…_ Nasi smiled and closed his eyes as a new hit flowed through his system. Quality shit. _Gotta remember to thank scaly face next time I--_

Motion caught his eye and he smiled as one of the back room curtains parted, admitting the fully dressed team commander. It was a knowing smile, crafted to patronize and congratulate simultaneously. "I hope you left some for me, bastard. Was it as good as it sounded?"

"Better," Suko produced his own wan smile, adjusting his olive drab chest armor. "She's an absolute goddess."

"Oh, ho, ho. High praise indeed," Nasi snorted, taking another drag from his pipe. "I think I'll take a shot at despoiling the goddess when she wakes up." A dark grin clouded his face, warping the scar. "Or maybe before. There's no rule that says they have to be awake, is there?"

The commander simply chuckled, then motioned to the small bag seed sitting on the table. "You know that shit will kill ya."

"This stuff?" The nin took it in hand, hefting its meager weight. "Since when did you get all—URK."

Suko's arm blurred and Nasi suddenly found a segmented blade sticking into his chest, through the chair and into the wall behind him. Blood poured wholesale from the wound, ensuring a permanent speech impediment. Under any other circumstance, the nin might have been able to dodge the blade and its thirteen individual segments that had lanced him like some exotic whip. Of course, coming out of the room in full combat fatigues and body armor should have been a clue as well, but he was on a seed trip, denied of the necessary reactions to avoid the commander's weapon. Without body armor to ablate the strike, there wasn't much he could do except die.

_Thunk._

Suko's former teammate slid off the chair and managed to hold on to a sliver of consciousness until the commander flicked the chain blade back, gutting the man and reforming his weapon into a solid blade with a loud snap.

Red blobs dripped from the glinting sword, all but begging Suko to clean it from the wonderful blade that he had forged by hand. But no. He wasn't done quite yet. His goddess had asked a favor of him and he would please her.

"What the hell is all the—" A feminine crop of navy blue hair popped out of another curtained doorway, only to freeze as her brain tried to make sense of what she was seeing. Nasi was sprawled across the ground eviscerated, the wall behind his chair splattered in blood. Sheba recognized the wound and her eyes flicked over to her captain who bore the blade that caused it; blood dripping from it as well. The observation had taken a second and Suko used it, flicking the bastard sword up. All thirteen segments extended to their maximum length in moments, bisecting the room at a height of two meters as he attempted to rake his newest target.

The female kunoichi pulled her face back from the door barely in time to keep the flashing steal from cleaving her head in two.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!"

Plaster sprayed into the bedroom she had rolled back into, a familiar snap sounding from the room just beyond. Sheba tightened her own yukata and retreated to the edge of the bed, grabbing her own gear while pounding on the wall beside her. The situation had become crystal clear. "Wake the fuck up, Kiro! That bitch got inside the Cap's brain!"

She didn't bother to wait for a response, tightening utility belt and clipping her combat harness into place. Her bedmate was forgotten, cowering in the corner. Instead of unsheathing the kunai that rested in the harness, she formed seal in her hands, flashing through a well worn sequence. "_Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!"_

The kunoichi took a deep breath and blew through the seal, releasing a gout of flame through the door and into the next room. The curtain separating the rooms was burnt to ash instantly while fire justu devoured everything before it. It was a simple technique, but given the close quarters, potentially decisive. Nor would she need uncanny accuracy to—

_CRaCK!_

The Kunoichi rolled right on pure adrenaline as Suko's whipping blade punched through the wall of fire and mere centimeters from her left cheek, imbedding itself into the wall behind her. For that single moment, she could see her own wide eyed reflection in one of the triangular blades.

Now was her chance.

She was the team summoner. If she could get one off before he pulled that damn blade of his back from the wall… She began to form the seals, catching a glimpse of the smiling commander through burning debris left over from her Katon. _Now why the hell was he smiling?_

The answer came swiftly as he jerked the blade horizontally. Her first reaction was to look back at the wall to ensure it was still imbedded. It was. _Then what--?_ She turned back to the captain just in time to watch a wave form along the edge, curling toward her. By the time she realized her error, her head was free of her body, rolling on the ground while her upper torso emptying of blood.

Suko frowned, disappointed that his own team was being so easily dispatched. Of course, he _did_ have surprise on his side, but… Movement burst from the opposite side of the room and he watched as a bandannaed nin rolled through his own doorway, unleashing a triple salvo of tagged kunai in his direction.

There was no time to recoil his own weapon and counter attack. Suko abandoned the hilt and rolled for cover behind a table, kicking it up just as the kunai buried themselves in the wall and detonated. The explosion within the confines of their room was deafening, but the commander's improvised cover absorbed most of the resulting fragmentation.

"Looks like Sheba-chan was right!" The other nin yelled from across the room, unsheathing a pair of tantos from his back. "The bitch mind-fucked you all good! Now I'm gonna have to kill—"

"You don't know the half of it."

He spun around and found the raven haired courtesan—quite obviously a kunoichi retrospect -leaning against the north wall to his left. Kiromura sneered, keeping one eye on his former comrade and the other on the harmless looking woman. "After I'm done killin' ol Suko over there I'm going ta introduce you ta rape hell, bitch."

"Mmm? Then there's something you should know about that," The kunoichi smiled lazily, shifting her weight subtly. The movement afforded the nin a better view of her curves while the black and red silk of her yukuat shifted as well, revealing yet more leg from the already high hemline. "You can't rape the willing."

She pushed off the wall lethargically and began to walk toward him, her entire form swaying seductively. Kiromura growled, bringing the twin tantos to bear. "That shit ain't going to work on… me?"

"And I'm _quite_ willing."

She signed through a quick three part seal as she walked over to him. The nin's world twisted dramatically with the words, contorting and folding in upon itself. He felt sick, his inner ear telling him that gravity had somehow lost meaning. Something smelled; Putrid. It was horribly and… And the burning! Kiromura shook his head, reeling back a few steps. The effect worsened, causing him to loose his grip on one of the short swords.

"K…Kai!"

The effect lessened for a moment, then redoubled in intensity with the chakra release. He fell to his knees and promptly began to puke his brains out as the genjustsu began to burn out every one of his five overloaded senses. "What… the … I can't…"

The bandanna'd nin's breathing started to become uneven and gasping. He trembled as his sense of touched was plunged from extreme heat sensitive to frostbite and back. The world continued to turn inside out from his point of view, and any attempt to right himself ended with him flopping along the ground like a fish out of water. Less than a minute later, the nin was doing little more than spasming.

The kunoichi merely sauntered up to him, raise his chin and slit his throat with a tasseled kunai. The twitching stopped, blood bubbling from his neck. She continued on, turning to Suko as if she hadn't just killed the man. Her smile was one reserved for lovers. "You did very well, _Su-ko_-kun."

The remaining Nin's chest puff with pride. His goddess was pleased. Pleasure rippled through him. Suko's reply was just forming when another Kunoichi stepped through walkway from the outer hall with calm purpose in her step. The newcomer sported a long mane of blond hair, penetrating blue eyes and wearing gear considerably more battle ready than the woman she was reporting to.

"I dispatched the perimeter guards," She began without preamble, noting the woman's thrall and the destruction around them in a single glance.

"Excellent," The Kunoichi courtesan voiced her approval. "We've got what we came for. Make sure the help remembers nothing."

"On it."

The Blonde was already on her way and nin turned back to her thrall, running a long, jeweled fingernail down the length of his body armor. Even though she never touched his skin, Suko shivered anyway, almost missing her hair shift from midnight black to orange-red. Her eyes likewise took on definition from coal black to a sparkling blue. She was still his goddess regardless; absolute perfection. "Now come. Lead me to your master's lair."

Suko lead the way eagerly.

* * *

**Chapter ONE**

_"Always two there are; no more, no less: a master and an apprentice."_  
-Master Yoda

"**T**each it to me!"

Kakashi Hatake stared at the usually care free genin, his normally bright blond locks dulled by the downpour that had drenched the village for the last few days. All things considered, the gray skies and curtains of rain made for a fitting backdrop to the Third's passing. The more superstitious amongst them had already commented on how the foul weather was more than likely the heavens weeping at the loss of such a great man, though Kakashi himself paid them no mind. The Hokage's death was tragic enough in his opinion without the heavens deluging the village in their sympathies as well.

His single eye wandered from the sheets of rain just beyond to the overhand keeping him dry, then back to the drenched, determined boy. Naruto Uzumaki… Village prankster. Demon container. Academy dead last. Team Seven genin.

There was no doubt that the loss of Sarutobi was hitting the child hard. The man was probably the closest thing to a father for the boy, though that descriptive belonged to nearly half the village in the wake of the Nine Tails sealing thirteen years ago. Now the village's most revered elder was dead and like most of Konoha, his student was looking for justice. Kakashi sighed. As much as he wanted to help the boy, he couldn't give him the answer he wanted.

"No."

"Well why the hell not?!" The blond exploded predictably. "It was good enough for Sasuke!"

_It _was_ good enough for Sasuke_, Kakashi admitted silently, if only because Sasuke had the only bloodline in the village capable of learning the technique inside a week's time… _And the self control to handle it_, the team lead amended as he observed the furious teen before him. _I'll teach the boy, just not that_.

Naruto Uzimaki simply held too many unknowns for him to risk teaching such an advanced technique to. If anything, failing to master the Chidori was just as lethal, if not more so and producing shadow clones. The only real way to screw up there was to produce too many and simply exhaust your life force. With the Chidori one split second's worth of inattention could find the user electrocuted on their own chakra or life force expended faster than pouring water from a glass. It required precise control; either through months of practice or via a bloodline that could properly harness it.

Naruto, sadly, didn't have either. Sure, he had the power. Anybody who could produce over twenty shadow clones and summon a giant frog could perform a Chidori, but then, Kakashi wouldn't have taught him how to produce those either. If there was one thing the boy was in dire need of, it was the basics and self control. Until then…

"The Chidori is not what you need now." Kakashi shook his head at the trembling youth. "We can practice—"

"If that bastard Sasuke can do it, so can I!" Naruto ranted, absolutely confident in his ability. "How can I help if you don't teach me?!"

_Ah, the rivalry._

"No." The Team Seven lead returned with a note of finality in his voice. "When you're ready we'll talk. Until then, you practice."

Blue eyes burned into him defiantly and Kakashi, the boy opened his mouth, but stopped, failing to produce the bluster the one eyed nin all but predicted. "Fine."

Kakashi blinked. No boasting? No comments about being the best hokage ever? Just… _Fine?_ The cerulean blue eyes regarded him fiercely for another moment before their owners turned about and walked back out into the rain. The pounding rain instantly enveloped the blond, who continued on course in spite of the drenching. Kakashi considered the uncharacteristic reaction for a moment and shrugged mentally.

No, Naruto wasn't ready for the Chidori any more than he was ready for the other high level techniques that he had somehow stumbled across and managed to survive. At the same time, there was balance to consider. Sasuke and Naruto were rivals. Let one get to far ahead and it would alienate or cause the other to stagnate. The Chidori was Sasuke's trump to the Shadow clones and there was little doubt that the Naruto would work his ass off to beat it.

Kakashi nodded slightly as the orange clad boy disappeared amongst the sheets of rain. After all, he knew better than most just how motivating a rival was.

* * *

**N**aruto Uzumaki was drenched, though the drenching was hardly noticed while his brain wrapped itself around the current dilemma he faced. In actuality, it was the same dilemma he had faced every waking day of his goddamn life: He wasn't being taken seriously. The villagers hadn't taken him seriously. Hell, half of them hated him outright and he didn't have a clue as to why until graduation. Sure, they didn't lift a finger against the old man's rule, but they didn't specifically _need_ to. School? With the exception of Iruka-sensei, the instructors had merely gone through the motions, forcing him to go to extremes to get any reaction out of them whatsoever.

_And now I'm getting screwed over again_! He fumed as the last two weeks played vividly in his mind's eye. Kakashi was teaching Sasuke an advanced technique to help him in the exams and what was he getting? _Jack. Not that I could have used the Chidori during the invasion, so sir._

Naruto ground his teeth with frustration. Practice. Sure. _Bastard Sasuke couldn't walk up a damn tree his first mission either. Didn't see him having to practice._

"DAMMIT!"

Naruto's fist blurred into the nearest wall along the street, punching a modest hole in the masonry. The genin continued walking, completely oblivious to the pain, let along the droplets of blood mixing in with the rain water pattering around him. It was all getting old. So very, _very_ old. He was going to the best Hokage ever, but this week had gone horribly wrong in so many ways that he was left wondering just how he was going to do it. _And one-eye is doing his best not to help_, the blond grumbled mentally. _So how am I gonna get the learning I need to become the greatest Hokage ever?_

Naruto Uzumaki paused in the rain. There was only one answer, really. _Somebody else._ The idea came as an absolute revelation to the boy, whose brain devoured the concept greedily. _Kakashi isn't the only one in the village with cool techniques! I'll bet I can find somebody else!_ Gai sensei had a ton of taijitsu stuff. Asuma had to have some techniques and even Kurenai sensei couldn't be half bad.

Naruto nodded firmly to himself, his course of action firmly committed to memory. He couldn't afford to wait on Kakashi-sensei. He'd be _ready_ the next time Konoha was in trouble.

* * *

"**N**o."

Naruto nearly fell face first into the wooden floor boards of Maito Gai's with the word, the instructor's cheery demeanor having lulled him into a false sense of victory. "Well why the hell not?!"

"While I admire the potent fires of your youth, I cannot, alas." Gai shook his head, the smile turning into a frown. "First and foremost, you are my arch-rival's student! I could not stain our honorable rivalry in such a way."

"Look, all I need is something like those gates." Naruto tried to maintain his cool. "I won't say a word to one-eye! Promise!"

"Your burning passion indeed sways me, but I must yet decline." The green spandex clad instructor sighed. "The gates are dangerous, fatally so if not—"

"I _need_ fatally dangerous!"

"Likewise, I have little time for more instruction myself." Gai continued unperturbed. "Between my cute apprentice, the team and various missions, I could not hope to add a forth protégée, were I willing."

"DAMMIT!" Naruto fumed, spinning on a heel and transversing to the nearest exit, whose door he slammed with a loud crunch. Gai winced and let out a sigh. For the boy to be that upset about his training either indicated that Naruto's passion for training was either white hot or…

Maiko Gai's frown deepened. Or that very passion was starving for lack of fuel. The self named team instructor eyed the door once more, now hanging slightly ajar and misaligned with its frame.

_I may have to have a word with my rival about such matters…_

* * *

"**N**o."

Naruto Uzumaki nearly choked on the word as the red eyed female nin considered him passively, emoting neither happiness or sympathy. It was harder to get worked up around this pale, frail looking instructor, but he was working up to it.

"Come on! You gotta help me out!" He ranted plowing forward with the plea already in progress. "He's training my rival to learn lightning swords and leaving me out to dry!"

"Indeed…" Yuhi Kurenai let the slightest of frowns play across her lips. Everybody had seen the results of the technique at the tournament and there was little doubt that Naruto had the power to harness it effectively. _Was Hatake being overly cautious?_ She shook the through away. It wasn't her place to second guess his instruction. "Regardless, I must decline. My obligations to Team Eight come first."

Harsh blue eyes clashed against passive red ones for a moment before prompting Naruto to snort. "Who needs a bunch of wimpy illusions anyway!"

Naruto turned on heel and was about to make a similarly righteous exit when a whisper stopped him. "_Magen: Jubaku Satsu._"

"Death wha—" Without warning, vines sudden sprouted from the mat floor, snaking along his legs and quickly rendering him immobile. Naruto began to panic as the vines encased him like a vice, coiling around his neck and constricting his air supply. "Kur-Kurenai sensei!"

The red eyed kunoichi sauntered over to him with a barely visible smile. To anybody else looking at the boy, he was merely standing in place with panic expression on his face. _She_ could see a shadow of the thorny, ravenous vine that had enveloped Naruto. _He _could see the entire thing as if it were real. Kurenai raised her hand to the boy's neck, drawing her finger across her own larynx.

The unspoken message crystal clear and his struggling ceased immediately.

"I'll have to speak to Kakashi about his neglect of the Genjutsu arts." The instructor commented as if she were discussing something as mundane as the weather, dispelling the technique and freeing the blond from his paralysis. Naruto stumbled a few feet, clearly in shock. "But suffice to say, I cannot train you. Is there anything else?

Naruto boggled at the surreally calm woman before him. "N-No."

Yuhi Kurenai nodded. "Then have a pleasant afternoon."

She didn't even watch the boy leave.

* * *

"**N**o."

"BUT YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT I'M GOING TO ASK!!" Naruto bit back testily, burning a hole into instructor before him who currently sported an easy smile in spite of his anger directed at his person. The man took another drag of his cigarette and shrugged.

"I've gotten word that you've been asking the other instructors to help bolster your technique." Asuma Sarutobi replied easily, rendering the boy speechless. "Sadly, I will have to reply in kind."

"You gotta be kidding me!" The boy continued his rant. He hadn't been in the guy's place for ten seconds before being turned down flat. "When is anybody going to cut me some slack!?"

The good natured smile faded slightly and Asuma, set the cigerrette in an ash tray. "You won't find the word slack and ninja in the same sentence, Naruto-kun."

"I know that! But—"

"And there are times when you will have to endure hardship to obtain your dreams." He continued, gently cutting the boy off. "There will be times when you are the only one you can count on to obtain those dreams."

The demon container's shoulders slumped. He clearly wasn't going to get the answer he wanted and he could hardly complain about the Hokage's death to _this_ man. Instead, he settled for grumbling malcontent. "Thirteen years of it is getting damn old."

Like Naruto, there was little the instructor could comment on. Even he had to admit thirteen years was a pretty long dry spell without reprieve. In the end, there was still only one thing he could say.

"I'm sorry, Naruto-kun." He sighed, watching the blond's face turn to dejection. The boy turned his back on the instructor and walked out the door devoid of any positive emotion.

_Damn it._ Asuma Sarutobi chewed as the boy departed his office. He was really going to have to talk to Kakashi about this.

* * *

**N**aruto listlessly wandered the still largely empty streets of Konoha. Even though the rain had fallen off to merely a light sprinkle, most were still disinclined to take their activities outdoors, less so given the events of the past week. The village had gone from triumph in the chunin exams to nearly limitless despair as it had not only seen its beloved leader slain, but slain by one of his very own apprentices whose invasion had nearly succeeded.

It was a despair the resident demon container shared and more. He had just helped save the village from utter annihilation at the hands of a giant sand demon and there appeared to be only one thing he was going to get out of it… The shaft. He wasn't going to get trained seriously; he wasn't going to get respect. What he _was_ going to get was overlooked and underestimated, just like the previous twelve years of his life.

Depression flowed through Naruto's being and there wasn't a damn person he could turn to for help. He had been turned down by every instructor. Sasuke would simply rub it in… _Sakura…_? An audible sigh escaped his lips. Much as he would like to think so, there wouldn't be any help in that corner either. The only man he would even think of turning too was dead. Warm flows of Chakra began to boil within him, responding to the depression.

He knew what was about to happen. He should probably resist it. _It_ was a crutch. But he also knew today he needed that particular crutch. People would be kinder to him. Treat him nicer. For the next few hours, they wouldn't see the boy who contained the destruction of their village. They would talk to her like a normal person… Blue eyes fluttered closed and the nine tails chakra began to eat away his body at a cellular level. Breath was caught up in his lungs as muscles began to shift and realign. Body mass was added. Subtract. Shifted. He'd asked the old fox about it once, and during one of his less antagonist moments had replied, 'it's the nature of the beast'.

Now she knew exactly what that meant.

Had anyone braved the rain in that moment they would have wondered why there was a lithe, auburn haired girl standing on the street corner allowing herself to be soaked. The more keen observers might have questioned why she was wearing a baggy orange jacket and pants, usually associated with that of Naruto Uzumaki. She'd fix that shortly.

For now it was time to escape, like she had growing up.

If only for a little while.

* * *

"**O**ne pork Ramen!" Teuchi Yoshigama offered the steaming bowl of noodles up to the man across from him with a smile as his daughter prepared the next order. A spicy rice noodle and shrimp ramen. The smile was the same he normally wore, though it was especially important today.

It was the first break they had had in the rain, and he wasn't about to waste the opportunity in both business and morale. Times had indeed turned tough, but Konoha was tougher. Sometimes the young ones just need to be shown a smile and some hot food to realize that no matter how bad it got, there was light at the end of the tunnel.

…And a hot, delicious bowl of ramen waiting right there with it, of course.

His patron returned the smile and eagerly dug into the bowl of noodles as the stand proprietor swept the yen off the counter and into hand. All in all, Teuchi had to count his blessings. The pottery store directly across the street and bar two blocks down had seen serious action. Neither would be open for another two weeks. Fortunately for him, his humble establishment was far too small to be considered a tactical position during the invasion and had been spared the brunt of the street warfare.

His daughter handed him a new steaming bowl of noodles she had just put the finishing touches on. Even though there was only one other customer, he smiled the traditional Ichiraku Ramen Bar smile and called it out."Spicy Rice Noodle Shrimp—"

"O-hayoo, Gramps!"

The owner froze as the bubbly female voice rang through the street. His aging eyes searched for its source and wasn't disappointed, finding it dropping from the adjacent rooftop in the form of a beautiful young girl. She was about 162cm tall by his estimate, with flowing brown-red hair that settled gently about her as she recovered from the maneuver, hitting the ground in a crouch.

_Show off,_ He hurmfed, but really couldn't help but to smile at the girl's antics. The teenager stood up, revealing a tee that hung just off the belly button and jean shorts that left enough of her magnificent leg to be displayed without stepping outside the bounds of modesty.

"Hi Ayame-chan!" She called out, causing his daughter to put aside the noodle strainer and blinked curiously. To her credit, the expression persisted only for a split second before recognition found its way to her face in the form of her own smile.

"Naami-chan! What a pleasant surprise!" She effused warmly as the girl stepped up to the noodle bar just right of the two patrons already present. The red head flashed them a smile, and they were more than happy to smile back. "It's been, what, nearly a year?"

The girl nodded. "About, I think. Just stopped by to see if you and gramps were okay!"

"Gramps!" Teuchi grumped mockingly. "Ungrateful little girl. And here I was just about to make you a bowl on the house."

"Eeep!" the redhead's eyes widened, clearly alarmed by the prospect.. "Was just worried about you, _uncle_. Auntie too."

"Of course, of course." The owner nodded as if it were a fact of life, but cracked a smile anyway and took her hand gently. "And how did _you_ fair the invasion, Naami?"

The girl's smile faded ever so slightly. Nobody else would have picked up on the deeper meanings buried within the question and the girl's appearance at his stand all but spoke for itself anyway. "Not so well, I guess."

Teuchi simply nodded and his daughter picked up where the question left off. "Don't worry. You'll be fine. We can talk all about it later."

"T-Thanks, Auntie." Vulnerability shown through the façade of confidence with those words, words accompanied by a weaker version of the previous smile.

"I'd like that… a lot…"

* * *

**Y**uhi Kurenai turned off the main business artery of Konoha and onto the red brick laden back streets of the entertainment district. The main boulevard had seen extensive damage due to last week's action as attacker and defender had struggled to maintain control over the tactically vital thoroughfare. Store fronts were shattered. Craters littered the street. The pale nin reached up and pulled a random kunai sticking out at an odd angle from the wooden frame of a clothier she was passing.

And it didn't look like this area was faring much better.

Even so, it had obviously seen less action than the main areas, to which her stomach was largely thankful for. Invasions generated large amounts of paperwork, as did student injuries, and she was dealing with both right now. Classes were on hold for probably another week until Konoha could dig itself out and she was going to put that time to use by digging herself out from the deluge of forms_. Let's not forget the tactical readiness report, after action debriefs, damage claim approvals…_ Yuhi sighed. It was definitely lunch time. _Well past_, she amended, judging the sun's position as something past two o'clock.

The invasion's activities had ensured most of her usual spots had closed either temporarily or in a very permanent manner due to combat damage. That left her choices to—

"_O-hayoo, old man!" _

Kurenai found her eyes invariable drawn down the street as a teenage girl seemed to flip through mid air and land in a crouch in front of the Ichiraku Ramen Bar. She watched as the redhead drew up, beaming a smile. "Hi Ayame-chan!"

"Naami-chan, what a surprise!"

Yuhi watched with slight surprise as the girl walked up to the bar itself, missing the initial greeting entirely in favor of studying her movement. She had flipped through the air like a nin. Landed like a nin. Even her walk up to the bar was vaguely that of a ninja…

…but after three years teaching at the academy prior to taking command of Team Eight, Kurenai was damn certain this girl wasn't one of theirs.

_Which begs the question, where is she from?_ The pale kunoichi mused, her curiosity raised. If the elder Yoshigama and his daughter knew the girl, it was doubtful she was a threat, but with the invasion… _Guess I'll have ramen for lunch, _she shrugged, eager to solve the new conundrum this girl represented.

"Behave girl, or I'll have you back here cooking yourself!" The gruff old man's voice menaced as Kurenai approached, through the humor rang true in his voice.

"Oh no!" The girl gasped, her horror clearly exaggerated. "What ever shall I do, surrounded by all this delicious ramen?"

Even the red eyed nin couldn't help but to smile slightly. Waves of red hair obscured her face from her present angle, but the expression was obvious from her voice alone.

"What have you done father?" Ayame shook her head woefully. "You've doomed the family business."

"Hmmm, perhaps—Ah, Yuhi-san!" Teuchi smiled widely, noticing the female nin for the first time as she found a barstool… next to the girl named Naami. "Come to sample the best Ramen in Konoha? A seafood special, if I recall?"

"Not today, thank you." The instructor inclined her head gracefully while simultaneously noting that the girl had suddenly gone silent. "I was actually looking to talk to the young one here."

The girl eyed the nin with wide blue eyes, who was in turn studied herself by red ones "Eh, heh… Hi?"

"And what is you name, young girl?"

"Um, Naami." She was barely suppressing the squirming in her seat. "Do I know you?"

"Doubtful." Kurenai smiled. "Nor do I know you, and I'd like to think I know most of the ninja your age on sight."

Naruto's brain was screaming now as the red eyes scrutinized her, seeking answers she didn't have at the ready. She was quite literally a year out of practice for this level of duplicity. "Uh, heh! I'm not a ninja."

"Indeed." The kunoichi arched an eyebrow. "For not being a ninja, that was quite a flip from the roof top."

_CrapOcrapOcrapOcrap…_ "I'm—"

"A tomboy." Teuchi cut in, sliding a seafood special toward the instructor. He waved away the questioning look on her face. "It's on the house, Yuhi-san. Consider it a thanks for what you and your fellows have done for all of us over the last week."

"My thanks, then." The nin smiled, accepting the bowl and chopsticks.

"Now where was I?" The proprietor wondered aloud, scratching his chin. His daughter was more than happy to oblidge.

"Naami's a tomboy."

"Hey!" Naruto took her cue and protested.

"Naami would like to think herself a ninja more than anything." Teuchi shook his head with exaggerated regret. "Lord knows her stunts are enough to give me heart attacks at times."

"Don't be mean, Uncle!" Naruto pouted falling deeper into the role the old man was leading. It certainly wouldn't be the first time he had helped her fend off some fairly uncomfortable questioning. "It's not my fault!"

Kurenai watched the friendly banter and dropped her guard slightly. If old man Yoshigama was conversing so easily with the girl, there really couldn't be anything to worry about. The man and his restaurant might as well have been part of Konoha's bedrock.

His daughter took over the conversation as another customer arrived to occupy her father. "Naami's parents are farmers outside of Oskat. They couldn't afford to send her to the Academy, not that it stopped her."

"I think see now." The instructor nodded. It was a common occurrence and wholey believable. Unless you had a bloodline that would get you sponsored or patrons with deep pockets, Ninja Academy wasn't exactly a fiscal convenience for most people. _Especially for rural farmers with other things to worry about, such as crops and livestock_, she appended mentally.

Kurenai turned back to the girl with a light smile. "I have to admit, that was quite an impressive maneuver without formal training."

The girl was now glowing with praise. "Thanks!"

The red and white clad nin noted the preening and filed the fact away for later examination. "And what do you know of chakra, Naami-chan?"

Naruto didn't miss the discreet look 'Uncle' Teuchi flashed her from the side. _Watch yourself._ "Um, not much. I can walk up a tree. Duplicate myself. Nothing compared to a _real_ ninja."

"Quite a repertoire regardless," Kurenai commented while politely consuming her Ramen. Her chopsticks unconsciously found the fishcake that had been evading capture. "From passing nins?"

"She'd pester them until they gave up their secrets." The owner rolled his eyes, only to have Ayame step in.

"He means she was entirely too charming for her own good." The daughter smiled.

Kurenai gave the girl an appraising look and didn't doubt Ayame's words for a moment. Or Teuchi's for that matter. She was certain that the girl could be very convincing when it came right down to it. This Naami was definitely charming… The fact that she was this accomplished without formal training indicated she had drive as well as confidence. _Maybe…_

"Will you be here later, Naami-chan?" She probed lightly. "Perhaps lunch tomorrow?"

"Um, well I only came by to see how Auntie and Uncle were doing." The red head returned, trying to keep the pensiveness from her voice. "I was planning—"

"If it helps, I'll reimburse you for any wages your absence creates for your family."

The redhead was left blinking now. Even the owners had stopped what they were doing. "I… guess? Why?"

"I'd just like to talk." Kurenai smiled easily and finished off the last of her ramen. She set her chopsticks aside and stood up. "Thank you again, Yoshigama-san, Ayame." She nodded to Naami. "I'll see you tomorrow then?"

"Yeah?"

"Excellent." The nin backed into the street. "Ja-ne for now."

Naami-Naruto waved her cheerfully off, only dropping the smile in favor of relief as she rounded a corner out of sight.

That had been too damn close.

* * *

**K**akashi usually wasn't one to sweat, or otherwise emote any sort of apprehension. His expression was usually one of practiced boredom, as if life itself held no further surprise for the man. The effect was only enhanced by the fact that the only eye visible was helping to create an air of indifference.

This afternoon, however, that one lazy eye was quite animated, flicking back and forth between three separated individuals. "All three of you?"

Two ninja and a Kunoichi nodded, emphasizing the point. Gai pressed the reason for their mutual visits home first. "He seems quite adamant, my glorious rival."

"And to be honest, the request may have merit," Kurenai added softly. "When confronted by a high level jutsu, Naruto-kun simply froze."

Asuma took a drag of his cigarette and smirked. "Is that what you're calling the Jubaku Satsu these days?"

The kunoichi's pale visage blushed slightly but she remained silent against the charge while the green beast's chuckle filled the gap. Kakashi simply shook his head. "That isn't exactly a basic technique to be using on genin."

"I think her point, my eternal rival," Gai followed up, "Is that regardless of how hopeless the situation was, he should have at least attempted to do something."

Asuma took another puff from his cigarette, leaning into the table all four now sat at. "If the boy wasn't any prouder than he already is, I get the distinct impression he would have been on his knees pleading for more training."

The one eyed instructor watched the unanimous agreement from his peers and sighed. "I can't teach him what he wants… Rather, I _won't_."

"Won't?"

Kakashi nodded. "Naruto-kun should have never been exposed to the high level techniques he already knows, frankly." The light haired nin let his words sink in. "Let's not forget _why_ he was paired with Sasuke and Sakura. He was last in his class. While he has more than enough potential- especially with his… _passenger_ –he needs the basics. _Badly_. I will not teach him yet another S-Class technique until he makes more headway."

"He spoke quite a bit on Sasuke…" Gai prompted and Kakashi shook his head.

"Who has a bloodline that can handle the training." The one eyed nin continued. "I'm sure you're all aware of the cursed seal by now?" Nods were returned to him. "Teaching him the Chidori was less for the chunin exams and more for his own protection. Unlike Naruto, he at very least has the basics."

"Truly, he was able to quench the fires of my cute apprentice." Gai agreed solemnly. "But I sense perception is everything in this particular rivalry."

Kakashi cocked his head. "Explain.

"While I would tend to agree that Naruto should not have been exposed to such techniques so earlier," Asuma picked up where Gai left off. "The fact remains that he _has_. More over, he was self taught. His rival is receiving official training in powerful techniques; Naruto has had to dig and scrape for his."

"Not exactly a healthy rivalry," Kurenai observed softly, almost to herself.

"It's the best I can do." Kakashi stated. "While grouping the best of the class and the worst of the class is tradition, it also has put me in the unenviable position of grouping the village demon container and the last of the Uchiha line together. To say that there have been issues is putting it lightly..."

"Regardless of the external pressures, I have my doubts that the status quo can be maintained much longer, Kakashi-kun." Gai frowned.

"Perhaps." The white haired nin finally acknowledged. "But until the situation stabilizes, this will have to be the way it is. The council has always been uneasy about training Naruto."

"And with my father gone…" Asuma mused, making the vital connection.

The village council had been less than thrilled when the Third had allowed his meager training to continue forward, less so with each technique he acquired, undoubtedly. Nor were they exactly secret about their opinions. Training the demon container in the ninja arts was tantamount to sleeping with the enemy in their opinion. Sarutobi had undoubtedly shielded Kakashi from a majority of that pressure, but now…

"Hmmm…" Gai rumbled, making the same connection that Kurenai had likewise made with Asuma's comment. "Then should you need assistance…"

Gai Maito left the remainder unspoken, to which Kakashi nodded.

It was the best he could do.

* * *

**N**aruto Uzumaki scrubbed down a bowl beside Ayame, sighing. "And he wouldn't even give me the time of day. I mean, isn't the whole point of putting the last of the class with the first of the class to improve my skills?"

The daughter of the owner considered the redhead's words thoughtfully, falling into a role she had adopted toward the girl years ago, that of an older sister. "Maybe there's another reason?"

"Not sure, Onni-chan…" The girl otherwise known as Naami shrugged, dunking another implement of ramen consumption into the warm dishwater. The old man had put her to work, but she didn't mind. She had Ayame to talk to and that was what was nice. There were damn few people in her life who could just be there for her. "I mean, I know Sasuke's gotten hicky on his neck and all, but it's been that way since the beginning…"

"I thought you said it was a deadly curse?"

"I guess…" Naami sighed into the soap. "It's just getting old. He gets everything and I get nothing. Hell, I saved the village from a giant sand raccoon!"

Ayame's own dishwashing ground to a halt. "Was… that you as… the fox?"

"Yeah! I stopped the stupid—" Something in her part-time sister's voice triggered a light bulb in her head, prompting a frown. "Oh… OH. I mean, shit!"

"Language, Naami-chan." The daughter admonished, to which the redhead blurted an apology through the revelation. "But yes, two giant monsters fighting on the forest's edge created more than enough of a stir. The fact that one of them was the fox from thirteen years ago…"

The bowl slipped from Naruto's grasp, plopping into the dishwater. Her eyes were wide. "I'm a complete idiot! The stupid frog just said to imagine something with claws, and I--!" The girl lapsed into silence, staring into her reflection through soap bubbles. "I can't even save the village without screwing up… Maybe… Maybe Kakashi-sensei is right… Maybe I just suck so bad that he can't train me…"

Naami's eyes began to moisten. She had probably had the very people she had sworn to protect and someday lead running all over the place in terror, thinking two monsters were about to descend upon them—

Before she could descend further into depression, a pair of arms wrapped around her and pulled her into a gentle hug. Naami found Ayame looking upon her with an equally gentle smile. "Thank you, Naami-chan."

"But…"

"But you saved the village, girl." The gruffer voice of Teuchi piped up from behind them as he pulled the back room curtain aside. He untied his smock, a sure sign that the last patron of the night had left. "So you scared us all silly. We're alive and that is what counts."

"I… I guess…" Naruto smiled weakly as the owner of her favorite ramen stand scruffed her hair.

"You did very good regardless of what your sensei says." The daughter added with a smile. "Maybe use something else next time though… Maybe a cat?"

"I'll try." The girl returned, grabbing her next dish and scrubbing it with renewed vigor.

* * *

**Author's Notes;** At this very moment, somebody is saying 'What the hell?' but that's okay. Given my normal fanfic material, writing this shouldn't come as a surprise and i hope the rest of you enjoy it. In case it isn't obvious already, this is a fem!Nartuo fic and just to head it off at the pass: I can most certainly guarantee there will be no Naruto-Sasuke match. Anything beyond that is up in the air atm, though I'll try to be semi regular with updates.

**Red vs Blonde**: _Struggled with this one for a bit, and even put a poll up on FFF to help me decide and Naruto-chan's appearance. On one hand you have blonde, which every reader can relate to because of its use in the Sexy No Jutsu technique. On the other hand, Naruto uses the aforementioned technique. A lot. Enough to make it hard to justify the use of it in a plot that uses his gender change as a psychological hiding place. Red, however, is not as easily reader identifiable, but is tons more justifiable in terms of plot. It also does the job of not making him immediately recognizable, as opposed to tying her to her mother's genetics. In the end, red won out since I couldn't justify blonde. Incidentally, the fff poll favored red 60-40._

**The Sexy Kunoichi:** _While this fic is not a lemon per se, it won't shy away from the material if I find the situation appropriate lie, a mission requiring the subversion of an enemy operative with high level information._

_**Special thanks **to _The Great Naruto Timeline_ for event chronology and TFF for the conversating. Adding this late because it was 3am when I posted; This fic lives soley because of a select few who saw this on my ffnet crap space and the tff spam thread.  
_


	2. Chapter 2

**A Kunoichi in Konoha**  
Chapter 2

_By Ozzallos_

_"**W**ell would you look at that…"_

_Kino Nantaki paused in the boredom-born flip of a single kunai between his fingers, taking his partners advice to study the length of the dimly lit trail they mutually guarded. It took a moment for his squinting eyes to pick out the trio in the fading dusk light, but once he did an eyebrow rose up with incredulity._

_"You gotta be kidding me," Kino holstered the Kunai as the light sound of feminine laughter jingled through the cool autumn air and the trio drew closer on a rather unsteady tack. "That couldn't be…?"_

_"Oh yeah it is," His counterpart confirmed with a wry grin. The women he didn't recognize, but the man they were supporting was, and it was quite obvious that all three had had a bit too much to drink by their sway. "And here I was going to trade away gate duty for the night."_

_One of the women stumbled and fell to the earth, landing soundly on her derriere. The three paused for a moment, then burst out laughing, helping the other to her feet. Even Kino couldn't help but to grin now. "I'm thinkin' this is blackmail material. You, Kodo?"_

_"Hell yeah." The nin to his left snorted. He'd always had good night vision, and the detail only increased with proximity. It was Suko alright, the Uchiha captor himself escorted two shapely women. Whores, Kodo smiled. One was a redhead that wore a complementary black and red yukata that was clinging in all the right places, while the other was a slightly taller blond and no less endowed, wearing a blue and black yukata. Both were leaning on the nin of the hour who bore a large jug of… Something potent, the guard decided, extrapolating the fact from their inability to maintain a stable heading along the dirt path._

_"Damn, why can't I score that kind of ass?"_

_"Because you didn't capture Sharingan Boy," Kino remarked, eyeing the trio with amusement. "But shit, forest recon could have at least warned us. Who's got that patrol tonight, anyway? Gaz? Tsuba?"_

_"Tsuba," Kodo returned in a distracted manner, his eyes riveted to the Captain's female companions. "Say, think he's willing to share? I mean, he's got two."_

_"Dibs on the blond if he is," His partner replied as the three finally made into conversational range._

_"Heeeey, boys!" The blond called out on cue, flashing them a smile that had 'I'm easy' written all over it._

_"Friends of yours, Su-ko-kun?" the redhead purred, applying herself liberally to their mutual companion._

_"Looks like somebody's havin' a good night, Captain," Kino smiled, his observation heavily laden with innuendo. "Business or pleasure?"_

_The distracted nin's attention wandered from the redhead nibbling his neck, thought the act obviously took some effort. "Little of both actually… Got a scroll for Kabuto-dono, but I need a favor."_

_"A favor?" Kodo leaned in. Whether he was actually interested in the request or the women accompanying his superior was unclear._

_"Yeah, my songbirds here can't go in with me… Will piss the boss off, know what I mean?" Both gate guards nodded, clearly interested in the direction of the conversation now. "Think ya can keep them company for me?"_

_"Think it can be arranged," Kodo leered, his attention most definitely riveted to the women now._

_"They can guard the gate with us." Kino sported a predatory grin to match his brother in arms._

_"Thought ya might like that," Suko smiled knowingly and the girls disengaged themselves from him on cue. They closed on the guards with a sexy sway, ensuring their undivided attention. "You'll find they're very… eager to please."_

_The redhead found Kodo first, applying herself to the guard in much the same way she had his superior. "I like this one, Su-ko-kun… Can I keep him?"_

_The blond pressed her ample chest into his cohort's, undressing him with her smoldering gaze. "Take your time, Suko-kun…"_

_"Hmmm…" The captain mused. "Guess you guys got this well in hand. Radio me in so I can get this over with?"_

_"Uh, yeah. Sure," Kino dissembled, attempting to divide his attention between the request and the blonde's wandering hands. He managed to find the walkie-talkie at his belt, bringing the transmitter to his lips. "Gate to yard…"_

_"Yard, over." The radio crackled back._

_"Captain Onimara coming in," He confirmed, keying the handset one more time with an increasingly dry mouth as the woman continued to wander._

_"Onimara. Got it."_

_"Go on in, Captain," Kino quickly clipped to the radio to free his hand. "We'll keep these—erk!"_

_"And take your—ack!"_

_Both men slid to the ground in tandem as their bodies twitched lifelessly; a long, tasseled needle jutting from each of their necks. The wound was nearly bloodless._

_"Clear." The redhead stepped away, looking around for any unexpected arrivals._

_"Clear," The blond did likewise, scanning the opposite wall for further sentries. She looked down at her mark with a contemptuous sniff. "Amateurs."_

_"The rest won't be." Suko advised, staring at the fallen guards impassively. "These two were merely tripwires."_

_"Let's prop the tripwires up, then," The redhead ordered, pulling her target's corpse up easily and leaning him against the gate frame. She pulled the pin out of his neck even as the blond did the same, both inspecting their work. They would pass a fleeting inspection, but their unnaturally wide eyes and surprised expression would fail under scrutiny._

_"Tag em?" The blond queried, unsheathing a kunai from her dead nin's combat harness._

_"Tag em." The redhead confirmed, relieving her victim of his kunai while pulling a length of twine from her red mane. The thralled Captain watched as both women produced explosive tags from the folds of their yukatas, tying them to the kunai then embedding them into the wall behind the corpses in turn. The wire was quickly attached the dead nukenins' belts. The leader finished her work with a satisfied nod. "We go in the same way; slow, drunk and obvious."_

_The blonde cocked her head with the run down, as if listening to some unheard sound in the night. "Team three is ready on the tree line, Ten Ten has the high ground."_

_"Then let's move," Her companion stated decisively. Her expression magically slackened, fading from sharp focus to that of a buzzed sexpot. The blond's change was equally dramatic, and both inebriated women coiled themselves back around the awed, yet slight disconcerted captain. He knew he shouldn't be this ambivalent concerning the death of the guards, let alone his own complicity in the act, but…_

_A finger found the base of his spine to the left, touching it lightly. Captain Suko Onimara's worries dissolved beneath a flood of endorphins._

_The next ten minutes were a pleasant blur for the nukenin and his escorts as they giggled and weaved drunkenly through the occupied village behind the gates in manner guaranteed to attract attention. Passing guards would occasionally pause, but inevitably continue along with knowing smirk. Nobody was going to challenge the man who captured Sasuke Uchiha and besides, who would want to? He had been cleared through the gate, and most wanted to be in his shoes anyway; especially given his company at the moment. The locals took a dimmer view of the carousing but then, they had little choice in the manner anyway and the trio continued on unmolested through the streets until they reached their destination; a modest hovel built into the hillside overlooking the village. Five guards stood around the only entrance, a plate steel door lined with rivets. All five sets of eyes locked on to the drunken trio as soon as they came into view._

_"Pros," The blond whispered through her come-hither grin. "Jittery too."_

_The redhead weighed the observation and came to a decision. "You and Ten Ten. Go."_

_"Shinranshin." The blond whispered, tensing slightly with the jutsu release. The guards forty feet in front of them instinctively sensed the threat, but failed to properly discern the source. Four of the guards instantly went to high alert. The fifth at the rear of their ranks silently pulled two kunai, stepped behind his two closest allies and slid the blades across their throats from behind._

_"Erk!"_  
_"Guurgle!"_

_The third nin spun around with the noise, only to find two of his comrades already falling to the earth with a clean slice across their throats, while the rear most member of their rank wielded the implements of the their death._

_"What the f-!"_  
_"Where-!"_

_Thunk! Thunk!_

_The single ninja now left standing suddenly found himself back in control of his own motor functions. In his hands were two bloody kunai. Around him lay two of his comrades with blood pouring from their open throats, while the other two had seemingly grown their own set of kunai from their forehead. The redhead, blond and his own Captain had never even moved. He had just enough time for a final swell of panic before a fleeting glint from the night sky caught his eye..._

_...It was also the last thing he would ever see as the kunai dropped out of the black like a falling star and made its home in his forehead, sending the remaining nin to the dirt in a lifeless heap._

_Both women moved up on the structure amongst the bodies, any traces of inebriation in their movements vanishing. Suko trailed behind, transfixed by the corpses while the women themselves scanned for more targets._

_"Door?" The redhead queried the blond, who in turn stepped up to the door._

_She stared at it for a moment, then shrugged. "Clear."_

_Her counterpart nodded, then turned back to Suko with a lascivious smile. The captain's eyes were instantly riveted to hers and his body responded in indescribable ways to her movement._

_"Su-ko-kun, I need a favor…"_

_"F..favor…?" He stumbled as she applied her body to his. Moon light shined down upon her pale skin, caressing her every curve as her every curve caressed him. Of course he would do it. He would do whatever his goddess asked. "Anything…"_

_Fingers danced along his body, touching discreet points on his skin, while pushing chakra into others. The captain knew at some level he was being used, even programmed, but he was beyond caring. The goddesses' lips moved._

_"Kabuto is in there, isn't he?" She whispered the largely rhetorical question in his ear, her hot breath thrilling his libido. He simply nodded and she continued. " I need you… to kill him."_

_Captain Suko Onimara's expression faltered for a single moment before turning to steel resolve. The nukenin pulled his segmented short sword from its sheath along his back and smiled cruelly as it glinted in the moonlight._

_"Consider the bastard dead."

* * *

_

**N**aruto Uzumaki stared at the pile of debris currently in hand with a frown. It wasn't a mission. It wasn't training. It was, in fact, a shattered length of wood plank burnt heavily at one end and splintered at the other.

It was also trash.

The blond chucked the plank into a pile with a number of its cousins as he had done so for the last two hours. The Shoya district had been seen considerable action as the smaller Sand forces a week earlier dug in with the intent to limit the movement of reinforcements around Konoha. They had ultimately failed at their objective, but left a huge mess behind in the process.

Naruto paused in his labor, watching Sakura turn a set chairs back upright; that is to say the chairs capable of remaining upright. She picked up another and it instantly fell apart in her hands, clattering to the stone floor of the building they were clearing out. The pink haired girl sighed and began to pick the kindling up.

_Invasions suck,_ Naruto decided, turning away from his crush to Sasuke, who was assembling his own pile of debris in the stoic manner he was famous for. The boy paused and returned his glance, then broke eye contact with a contemptuous sniff.

_Bastard,_ The spiky haired blond decided but returned to his own pile, content in the knowledge that his rival been sentenced to the same fate. In fact, the only member of their team absent was the instructor himself, which was actually the reason they were reduced hard labor. Kakashi had business to attend to and since he couldn't supervise or train them, he put them to work.

_Probably standing around reading that echii book of his,_ the teen grumped sourly with yesterday still fresh in his mind. _At least the old man had been there to talk. Even Auntie—_

"SHIT!"

Work suddenly stopped and the eyes of his team mates were suddenly riveted on his person. Naruto's panic over his bout of forgetfulness was replace by a new panic concerning the attention he was drawing to himself.

"Uh… heheh…" He stumbled with a wide fake smile. "Just um… forgot.. heh…"

"Forgot, _what_, dobe?" Sasuke asked pointedly.

"Heh… Um…" A plan with all the coherency of a shotgun pattern formed within Naruto's brain. "Er…RICE!" The force of his admission caused Sakura to take a step back, though the skeptical look remained plain on her face. "Yeah, I left rice on back at my place! Oh boy, I better go turn it off!"

The question was just forming on Sakura's lips when her blond cohort turned on a heel and departed the house in a blur. Incredulity cracked the Uchiha's mask as well, before being replaced by an irritated look. "Idiot."

"He actually thinks we're going to buy that lame—" No sooner had she reached the end of her sentence then their mutual partner walked back through the dilapidated doorway with a huge grin plastered across his face. Sakura blinked.

"Don't tell me you actually fell for that?"

The pink haired girl's cheek twitched. "Nobody could fall for that!"

"How about you?" He turned over to Sasuke, who was glaring warmed over death into him.

"Moron."

"Hmmf," Naruto snorted, returning to his pile of scrap. "You guys just don't appreciate good humor."

Three blocks away, Naruto Uzumaki was running flat out, ducking through the back alleys in order not to be seen by anybody he shouldn't be seen by… In other words, damn near anybody he could think of off the top of his head. The clone would hold them for a little while; likely long enough to find out what Kurenai-sensei wanted with his alter ego then get the hell out. Normally he'd just blow the meeting off, but that would create some very uncomfortable questions for the old man, and that wouldn't do.

Not at all.

_First stop, the apartment_, he decided, taking a quick left down a tarp covered alley, then a right as he ran down the plan borne of last minute improvisation. _Change of clothes, chat with the sensei then vanish._

The genin arrived at the dorm that housed his apartment and opted for the fire escape to achieve an entry through the window of his apartment.

Naruto slid the window open and hopped through, making a beeline through clutter that gave clutter a bad name and over to the already half open closet. Naruto kicked a pile of clothing aside and reached up to the top shelf, finding a small duffel bag. He unzipped it, took a look inside and nodded, satisfied that the contents were in order. Granted, it would be just easier to just change in the apartment, but the last thing he needed at the moment was for somebody to witness a redheaded girl scaling the second story which in turn led directly back to his identity.

Ten minutes and a back alley clothes change later, Naruto was fully dressed in baggy jeans, sandals and a plain sky blue tank top. The outfit would have looked decidedly feminine on the blond boy, save the fact that Naruto wasn't a blond boy at the moment. She was, in fact, a redhead with long hair, blue eyes and a body on the cusp of womanhood. People smiled at her and she was more than happy to smile back, but maintained her brisk pace through the streets in order to make her appointment. Even with the smiles, it still felt… odd. At least this time around.

_When was the last time I actually henged into her on purpose?_

Not counting the Sexy no Jutsu, of course. That was purely for laughs. No, 'Naami' was reserved for when the mask cracked and reality threatened to take its ball and go home. Granted, those incidents were getting fewer and further between and 'he' was getting stronger, just…

Another pedestrian passed the pretty girl a smile as they passed.

…_Just that it's nice to be smiled at once in a while._

_Maybe someday Naruto will get those too_, the redhead mused but continued on, steeling herself for the last left hand turn onto Juki street and her imminent arrival at the best damn place to eat in all of Konoha. Unfortunately, the best damn place to eat in Konoha was at that very moment playing host to her current source of angst, Kurenai Yuhi. Naruto easily spotted the pale nin already sidled up to the ramen bar, chatting with the owner. Naruto picked up the pace.

_And here we go._

Dark red eyes caught the movement out of the peripheral of her vision and Kurenai turned, finding the red headed girl she had only met yesterday. The red obi clad nin nodded with a light smile. "I was getting worried you wouldn't make it."

"Sorry about that," The girl smiled apologetically, "Got tied up." She turned her smile upon the ramen stand owner and his daughter. "Hi Auntie, uncle!"

"I can see that," Kurenai appraised, even as the owner and his daughter acknowledged the presence of their 'niece'. The warm smile was there like always, Naruto noted, but there was an unmistakable warning in the old man's eyes. Then, the woman's words caught her.

"You… you can?" Panic flashed in Naruto-Naami as she wondered now just what the instructor saw.

"It's obvious that that the farm keeps you a very busy girl," The nin remarked with a mysterious smile, leaving Naruto completely in the dark. Fortunately, Ayame came to the rescue and filled in the blanks.

"Remember to take time out from your farm work, Naami-chan," The owner's daughter smiled with a slight edge of mischief. "A simple shower wouldn't hurt either."

"Oh," Naruto blinked. A quick look at her hands and arms revealed the obvious and realization slammed home a second later as the alibi took root. She looked at her dirty hands and imagined the rest of probably didn't look much better. "OH! Yeah, I guess I am a mess…"

"It's quite alright," Kurenai's smile took on genuine depth as she misinterpreted the girl's surprise completely. "I, for one, am not about to fault a hard worker. Walk with me, please."

The impromptu request caught Naruto by surprised and she found herself walking away from the stand, trailing behind the kunoichi with curiosity.

"So tell me, Naami-chan… How long have you wanted to be a ninja?"

"As far back as I can remember!" It wasn't even an answer he needed to screen through his alter-ego, even if it was necessary to blur the context. "I've _always_ wanted to be a ninja."

The pair turned a corner and stepped out on a main artery leading into the heart of the village. "A difficult dream to achieve on the farm no doubt."

"Eh… Yeah." Naruto hesitated warily, unsure where the kunoichi's conversation was heading until it reached a most unexpected juncture.

"Then what is a ninja to you?"

The question came so far out from left field that the henged red-head nearly stumbled. _What is a ninja? What the heck kind of question was that?_ "Um… a ninja is… its…"

The girl's thought process stalled. It was actually a _damn_ good question.

Kurenai continued to lead the way silently down boulevard as Naruto's mind ferociously sought an answer. Gone, for the moment, was the subterfuge he was engaged in as Naruto asked himself- currently herself -that very same question. What was a ninja? Oh, sure, everybody knew what ninja did, and he could easily define his aspirations concerning his way of the ninja, but… The girl shrugged, lacking a response of appropriate depth.

"…A ninja is whatever they are."

The kunoichi stopped so suddenly that the redhead behind her nearly plowed into her back. Red eyes blinked down at her and Naruto suddenly found himself wondering just how badly he had screwed himself over with the flippant response.

"Indeed," the woman confirmed with a nod before leading on down the street once more. Naruto exhaled silent relief as the instructor continued. "Ninja are many things… They are the weapons of war and keepers of peace. Ideally, the true role of a ninja is the one that is never known."

"Beneath the beneath?" The redhead hazarded, and Kurenai awarded her with a pleased smile.

"Exactly," The woman continued conversationally.

"So what if I were to tell you that Konoha is in need of ninja?" Kurenai stopped and turned, looking squarely at the redhead before her as a cart hauling lumber puttered past. Naruto's thought process stalled once more. _What the hell? _"It's no secret that the invasion has left Konoha in an… _awkward_ position; a position where upon outside recruitment has become a viable option for aspiring kunoichi such as yourself."

"That's… it's….I mean, _what?_"

Kurenai smiled at the gibbering girl, a reaction that was only natural in her eyes. She was offering Naami a chance at her lifelong dream, after all. "It will not be easy training, mind you. First you will have to pass an Academy equivalency before moving onto specialized training ."

"What… sort… of specialized… training?" The blue eyed girl simply stared at her with wide eyes.

"I'll not lie to you child, the path of a kunoichi is a demanding one, perhaps more demanding than any other role within the ninja hierarchy besides that of Hokage," The instructor outlined seriously, pleased that she now had the girl's complete and undivided attention. "Technically, any female ninja can claim the title of kunoichi, but only a select few can truly claim the fullest measure of that title. These few are expected to operate independently and without support, often moving amongst the enemy undetected in order to carry out their mission. Because they will be on their own in many cases, their training includes a wide range of potent genjutsu, ninjustu and taijutsu."

It was all Naruto could do to keep from simply gaping at the implications. _Potent genjutsu, ninjustu and taijutsu… _The words echoed within the confines of his skull enticingly. Basically it was _only_ everything he had been denied up until now, and it completely bypassed any gender identity.

"Assuming you can pass the entrance exam, the learning curve will likely be rather steep in order to make up for lost time," The red eyed nin's tone dropped to more serious levels. "The pace will undoubtedly be a grueling one… Do you think you're up to the challenge?"

"Oh, hell yes!" The pale woman was nearly forced back by the enthusiasm pouring from the redhead, who in turn suddenly remembered herself. "I mean, if it's okay, that is…?"

Kurenai cocked her head, studying the enthusiastic girl. She had a hunch last night about this girl and that reply all but confirmed it. There was still the academy equivalency and a myriad of detail between here and there, but… The pale nin crooked a slight smile. "Then you'll need this."

Naruto-Naami watched as the woman pulled a thin scroll from the belt of her combat harness. She handed it to Naruto who in turn peered at it curiously "What's this?"

"That," She motioned to the sealed scroll, "Is for your parents approval."

* * *

**N**aruto Uzumaki had a problem.

Most of those familiar with the events surrounding the obnoxious ninja would assume- were they privy to the knowledge -that his problem consisted of a certain demon of the nine tailed variety sealed within his very belly. While the Kyuubi was certainly a never ending source of angst for the teen in general, the kitsune was largely known quantity and not the source of his current problem.

Kyuubi was, however, a contributing factor, and the problem itself was the scroll meant for his parents... Or rather Naami's parents. Her blue eyes continued to flick back to the scroll in his decidedly feminine hands, her consternation two fold as she walked briskly through the streets of Konoha... First of all, _he_ didn't have any parents and therefore neither did Naami by extension. Given the nature of the scroll, he was doubting that anybody he could consider a parental figure would actually approve of the particular course of action he was undertaking, which in turn brought him to the second, more important issue.

In fact, the problem didn't really seem like a problem at all at first. A shadow clone Naruto would take his place on Team Seven while he trained as Naami, learning all sorts of cool super moves and S-class assassination techniques. She would learn everything they had to teach her and then _he_ would rub it back in Kakashi-sensei's face, not to mention kick Sasuke-bastard's ass with them. At least that had been the plan until the chakra of her shadow clone working with Sakura and Sasuke was snuffed out, rebounding back to her with the memory of an ill placed comment and the pink haired girl's fist bouncing off the clone's forehead.

That very act of violence also reminded her of one very important fact.

_How the hell am I going to do this?_ The girl's brain churned while she traced her path back to her apartment, clutching the scroll. Getting her "parents" signature was actually a minor inconvenience in the grand scheme of things. He could probably run _that_ past grandpa Teuchi later tonight. But to _actually enroll_ in Kurenai-sensei's training? _And_ be in two places at once? If there was a single flaw to be driven home in this wildly improbable scheme, it was that. All somebody had to do was smack the copy once and he was done for.

The redhead took a quick look around her immediate area as she traced through the last alley that led along the back of her building. Seeing no witnesses, she climbed the fence, hopped across the intervening space and scaled the fire escape up to her window.

_Of course, they would never know it was my shadow clone_, she reasoned, sliding through the window and quickly began to discard clothes in favor of the crumpled orange garb at the foot of her bed. Even as she pulled the orange pants from the bed, she began to melt, shifting into a slightly shorter, stockier form. Her hair began to be leached of its rich auburn red, shortening into a crop of blond spikes. Naruto gave his head a quick jerk to work out the kinks of the transformation, resulting in a pair of pops while he worked into the pants, then his t-shirt. Even as he grabbed the orange jacket, the genin frowned at the previous plan. Sure, he could probably get free and clear, but Teuchi and Ayame wouldn't be so lucky. There would be questions asked one way or the other, and there was only one conclusion Naruto could come to.

_I'm screwed._

The blond tied up his forehead protector and left through the door at a hurried pace this time, angling through the barren apartment hallways of the low rent housing and out into the sunlight once more, this time as a male. _Screwed in more ways than one_, the thought echoed through his brain as the more immediate implications of his shadow clone being dispelled held for him._ Teme's gonna give me that look and I'll never gonna hear the end of it from Sakura-chan..._

No, a shadow clone wasn't going to work for this, Naruto decided, searching for another method as he set a course back for his undoubtedly disgruntled team. _But a solid clone would_, his intellect grasped eagerly through his limited options, remembering back to his first mission and Kakashi's fights with Zabuza. _Those can take a beating and not disappear!_ He triumphed, then frowned as reality once again slashed at his goals. Unfortunately, he didn't even know where to begin in mastering the technique, and the only people he knew weren't going to be forthcoming in the training.

_Dammit, dammit, dammit,_ the blond fumed, barely paying attention to the people around him as he wandered through the streets of Konoha on autopilot. _Guess I can try and do it my-  
_  
"N-Naruto-kun," The soft greeting was barely enough to pull him from the dilemma he faced, but blue eyes snapped up into the solid iris' of Hinata Hyuuga; who was barely managing eye contact herself.

"Oh, Hi Hinata-chan!" Naruto blurted, causing the girl he had been about to pass by to blush profusely. "Guess they got you to working this ward too?"

"H-Hai," She nodded ever so slightly, taking a tepid glance at the building she had been sweeping out herself.

Naruto cocked his head at the girl's odd behavior, but he shrugged it off. _Her face is really red... Musta been working pretty hard then. _The ninja favored her with an easy grin. "I can leave a shadow clone to help if you want?"

Hinata's eyes widened briefly with the suggestion as another portion of her brain began to quickly devise a reason for her crush- or even his clone -to stay within her proximity even though their team had mostly finished their work for the day. In the end, that thought ran headlong into her shy nature. "I... we're almost done here..."

Naruto shrugged and began to wave goodbye when a last minute spark of bravery reignited within the girl. "Um, did you... I mean... need any help?"

"Nope!" The chipper reply was a stab to Hinata's heart, but the followed by a dark chuckle. "Unless you know a solid clone technique?"

"Oh... I don't think so..."

Naruto nodded, all but expect the answer anyway. "See ya around, Hinata-chan!"

Hinata watched her crush walk off, seemingly without a care in the world for anybody who cared to notice such things; save the fact that the Hyuuga heir had been watching the blond genin far longer than any casual observer. _Years_ longer. There was the typical bounce in Naruto's step, subdued by an unseen weight that seemed to likewise subtly affect his posture. A concerned look replaced the shy blush on her face, and the girl watched as he continued down the street, turning a corner out of sight.

"Naruto-kun..."

* * *

"**H**ey guys! how's the-"

_Thwap!_

"OW!" Naruto Uzumaki furiously rubbed his forehead as small stone bounced off of it, skittering across the largely ruined wood floor while its impact was denoted by a largish red knot. The nin shot a furious glare back at its launcher. "What the hell was that for, bastard?"

Instead of replying directly, Sasuke simply turned to his pink haired counterpart and nodded. "This one's real."

"I can't believe you just skipped out like that, idiot!" The pink haired girl's temper preempted any justification that came to Naruto's mind, and the blond took a step away from the fuming genin. His footing caught up in the remains of something wooden, but he paid it no mind, tripping backwards but eyes squarely on the more sizable threat. "Do you think we're here just for your entertainment or something?"

"No, it's not like that!" Naruto protested weakly, lacking any sort of defensible position besides either being seen as an annoying prankster or just a complete idiot without exposing his real activities. "I was here! The entire time!"

"Your _clone_ was here, moron," Sasuke cast a look toward the errant ninja that hovered just below room temperature.

"And it was just as bored as you guys were!" The blond temporized desperately, his head swinging from the annoyed Uchiha heir to the cherry blossom advancing on him with a clenched fist. "Come on! I can make another dozen! We'll be done with this in no time!"

"And. Why. Didn't. You. Think. Of. That. _BEFORE?"_ Sakura growled, bring her arm back for a hay-maker. Naruto cringed and braced for impact. And braced. And braced some more.

The impact never came. Naruto peaked out from the arms shielding his head to find Sakura smiling pleasantly. His blue eyes flicked over to Sasuke, whose own expression was now one of bemused satisfaction. The ninja slowly lowered his guard, then hazarded a chuckle. "Heh... heheh... I knew you guys would see it my way!"

"Hmmm," A voiced purred from behind him; a masculine voice that caused the orange clad ninja's stomach to plunge. "I don't recall authorizing the use of shadow clones for this task."

Naruto looked up slowly, finding the bored, one eyed countenance of Kakashi Hatake looking down at him. The genin smiled weakly, rubbing his head. "But, um... You didn't say I couldn't?"

"True," The disinterest looking continued to bore in on him. "That, however, is little excuse to let others do work while you run around and goof off."

"But I was-!"

"Not everybody has access to an S-class clone technique to do the work for them," He shook his head, finally taking his gaze off the boy and walking around him to inspect their mutual work in clearing out the building. "Thus, it's complete unfair to leave your team behind while run off doing who knows what." The blond was about to protest again, when Kakashi turned back to him with a penetrating stare. "And _what_, exactly, were you _doing?_"

_HE KNOWS!_ Naruto's psyche screamed as the rest of his brain tried to formulate a response to the pointed question. _Calm down... calm down... _The nin schooled himself in those crucial seconds. There was a chance he didn't know. _Maybe. But if I lie and he does, I'm so screwed! _Naruto's panicked brain worked the angles overtime. _But I can't just admit it! Not when I'm so damn close! _

Kakashi simply stood there, waiting. Around him Sasuke and Sakura waited as well with no small amount of annoyance radiating from the pair. Naruto gulped and stepped into the breach with the truth. Just not all of it. "I was at Ichiraku's...?"

"I KNEW IT!"  
"Moron."

"Of course you were," Kakashi sighed, shaking his head before turning to his other two students. "Sasuke. Sakura. You have the rest of the day off."

Naruto's chest suddenly felt tight even as his eyes tracked a contemptuous Sakura walking out the door, followed by a smug Sasuke. He was alone with the Team Seven lead less than a moment later, dreading what was next.  
_  
Here it comes... doomed, doomed, doomed.._.

"While I admire your ingenuity, this was work you were to do as a team," Kakashi began, his back facing the frozen teenage nin. "If this had been a real mission, your clone could have been easily incapacitated, leaving your team to deal with whatever threat it was facing alone."

If there was one lesson that had already been driven home with the clarity of a hot kunai through butter, it was that; and Naruto nodded unconsciously with the sentiment. The clone _had_ been compromised and now he was in deep shit for it. It didn't work here and it sure as hell wouldn't work for Kurenai-sensei's training.

_Not that I'll ever get the chance now,_ he decided bitterly as the instructor turned back toward him, continuing to stare at him with that single, unwavering eye of boredom and apathy.

"Since you already had your lunch, I'm sure you won't mind finishing the job here," the white haired jonin continued, the frown visible in his voice. "And maybe while you're finishing the rest of the _block_ out, try to remember that when I put you to work as a team, I expect _teamwork_."

Naruto blinked as Kakashi began to take his leave.

"And no clones," The instructor paused at the door to issue the final condition of his student's punishment. With that, Kakashi was gone into the afternoon daylight, leaving a stunned genin in his wake.

The question as to whether he had just been given a pass or just enough rope to hang himself with loomed so large in Naruto's mind that he didn't actually comprehend his punishment for a full five minutes.

* * *

**N**eji's Byakugan enhanced sight pierced the ink black of night that set across the property of his clan's namesake, the various walkways and buildings lit to reveal the occasional patrol or pedestrian. The illumination was as artful as the architecture itself, positioned to allow light and shadow to blend in contrast that was pleasing to whatever eye looked upon it. The branch heir's target, however, was not moving amongst the illumination that lit the compound's major pathways, and probably would have escaped detection entirely if he hadn't already been atop one of the higher towers, thinking.

Thinking about fate.

Thinking about destiny.

It wasn't the first night he had spent atop the storage tower since the invasion, watching others come and go about their business while he contemplated where, exactly, his fate lie. Before his defeat, the inexorable flow of events was a foregone conclusion. He was superior and his rise inevitable. Spending time developing relationships was a waste in that light, and it had been a rude surprise to find that philosophy stopped cold by somebody who was, by all accounts, a failure.

_A failure that somehow learned an S-Class technique and devised tactics to defeat me_, Neji snorted with contempt; contempt that was solidly directed at his own self. Neji's eyes tracked the figure through shadows that normal eyes couldn't penetrate, chakra feeding through bulging veins along his temples to enhance that sight. While he may have been more than happy to lord his superiority over others in the past, one thing the branch heir was, was utterly realistic when it came to his skill. Frankly, it was exceptional for his age bracket and the complete lack of clan support. Others may have been willing to pass his opponent's victory off as chance, but the Hyuuga knew better. He had executed the fight flawlessly, only to run headlong into Naruto's unreasonably stubborn nature and his surprise... _bloodline?_ The young ninja shook his head in recollection before returning to track the unknown interloper traced around the edges of the clan's grounds. _Avoiding our patrol's Byakugan radius_, he noted silently, while cataloging the fact that this intruder was obviously familiar with those he was trespassing against.

_Her_, Neji corrected himself as the now correctly identified female inadvertently drifted further into his own Byakugan arc so that he could glean more detail from the chakra return. If he had to guess, she had misjudged his ability just enough to stay on the outside edge of his ability without fully committing herself to the detailed inspection of his vision. Neji stepped closer to the tower's edge, contemplating his next course of action when his quarry paused and _flashed_.

The black haired teen's eyes widened and tried to pull more detail from the faint chakra return. There was something about the way she moved... Something that tickled his recollection. It was familiar, almost as if_... But why?_

His attention, if not his gaze, swung back to the Main Family section of the compound where he had first picked her out of the shadows. If she was who he thought she was, the main question then became _why_ she was sneaking across the property that was all but hers by birthright? His target was on the move again now and he watched as she began to cut across the property at a respectable sprint, leaving the range of his Byakugan seconds later.

It hardly mattered what direction she chose now. There was little of value in that portion of the clan's property save The Library, all but assuring him of her destination. Neji powered down the special technique and darted to the right, taking the leap off the tower's wood shingled roof to the next highest structure, free falling for a moment before hitting the next roof in a crouch to begin his sprint along the spine. Unlike his quarry, stealth wasn't his primary consideration and took a direct line to the vault, raising eyebrows from the patrols he blew past but remained otherwise unmolested as he took the various roofs until only a flat, well lit clearing remained between him and the structure. The Hyuuga came to a precise halt at the edge of the rooftop and just beyond the periphery of the clearing.

Like Hinata, he too would have to make for a covert entry into The Library, if for entirely different reasons. She could challenge the guards directly and walk through the front door as the heir to the Hyuuga clan if she chose. He, on the other hand, could not. While Hiashi Hyuuga's attitude toward the branch clan may have softened with the outcome of the tournament, a branch member was still a branch member and generations old policy didn't simply change overnight...  
_  
Regardless of how much Uzumaki desires it to be so_, Neji mentally acknowledged his former opponent, and began to skirt along the edges of the clearing while simultaneously managing his need for stealth. All things considered, her activities were proving a mystery even if her intentions were not. For some reason, she required access to the Hyuuga library of special techniques, and for some reason she was determined to keep that access as covert as possible... _Even though she is heir apparent to the clan,_ the branch heir frowned, slipping past two guards on their roving patrol without a sound before sidling up to a thicket of decorative shrubbery to conceal his position before making the final sprint. Of course, the clump of brush and flowers would be little more than a pane of glass when pitted against the Byakugan, but so far neither he- nor Hinata, perhaps more surprisingly -had given any of the sentries a reason to activate theirs.

Neji puzzled over her activities, sensing her only because he already knew she was now on the libraries roof top._ Hinata can walk out the front door with whatever it was she had come to take, but obviously doesn't want anybody to know of her presence_, he concluded and allowed her another thirty second to make her entry before running flat out, abandoning his cover and making for the structure's west wall where the lighting didn't reach. He waited another measure plying foot to chakra in order to scale the wall quickly. Once atop, the teen spotted the girl's method of entry: a carefully removed ventilation screen that ultimately curved vertically into the roof itself. Neji stared at her work for a second, wondering just how much planning Hinata had put into this before making his way to the very same shaft.

He gave the shaft a careful inspection before sliding in himself, negotiating a ninety degree angle within before the ducting finally flattened out. Neji landed silently inside and immediately caught sight of another open vent a mere ten meters from his landing point. A crouching shuffle brought the branch heir to the opening and he bent down, ensuring his drop into the archive's main hall would be unnoticed.

_Clear._

Neji dropped once more, this time onto flexible tatame where he landed in a silent crouch. The doors to the main archive at the end of the hall were immediately noted as cracked open, giving him a clear indication as to his cousin's path through thebuilding. The genin followed carefully, barely moving the sliding door as he edged through and into the main chamber, where rows upon rows of shelving stood sentinel; each and every last one of the towering wooden frames laden with scrolls. He paused uncharacteristically with the sight; a pause accompanied with a sliver of regret, and contempt. This was ground he was not free to tread upon. The scrolls were not his to borrow and study without the permission of the clan head, who wasn't likely to give them freely any time soon.

Neji's expression soured, but he put the thought to the back of his mind and began to stalk down the center row of the archive room, scanning the rows for any sign of life. The whisper of parchment scrapping against itself caught his ear in the otherwise silent space, all but advertising Hinata's location. Neji quickened his silent pace and happened upon the girl deep within the twelfth row, pulling scrolls from the shelf seemingly at random. He waited as she would study their labels for a moment before sliding them back in place and returning to whatever it was she was searching for. The genin cocked his head, watching her for a full minute in the open aisle. One minute turned into two. Then three. Neji's cheek began to twitch at the five minute mark, but his cousin still had yet to nice his presence.

"Ahem."

"Eeep!" Hinata Hyuuga suddenly spasmed, sending no less than five scrolls in to the air to rain back down upon her as she whirled upon the person overtly spying upon her. Four of the five landed at the suddenly deathly pale girl's feet, while the fifth rolled down the aisle itself until stopping at her cousin's foot. He bent down to pick it up, studying with passing curiosity before turning his attention back to the girl. Her mouth opened and shut as her sight flicked from him, to the shelves and back to the incriminating evidence in his hand and at her feet.

"I...! I...! It's not..! I'm, um...!"

Neji frowned at the gibbering girl before finally rolling his eyes and tossing the scroll back to her, where she intercepted it on reflex; juggling it ineptly in hand before obtaining a solid grip. The branch heir ignored his counterpart's antics and stepped fully into the row, studying the scrolls she had gone through. After a moment, he turned back to the nervous girl. "Your father doesn't know about-"

"Please don't tell him!" Hinata blurted desperately, causing Neji to blink through the sheer desperation in her voice. Her hands rung themselves nervously before she broke her pleading gaze from him, bending down to snatch the scrolls at her feet. They were quickly plucked from the ground and replaced. As soon as they had found their shelves, Hinata's jittery gaze was on him once more. "Please... I... You can't! It's important!"

"What's so important?" Neji pressed, taking a step forward. Hinata took a step back, and for the first time, he noticed a small cloth bag hanging from her left shoulder. She noticed his attention and profiled away, obscuring it from sight. Her cousin simply arched an eyebrow. "Though I guess the real question now becomes why the clan heir would _stealing_ from her own archive?"

Hinata's mouth opened, than closed with an alarmed look on her face that clearly advertised she had been found out. Neji shook his head. "Not that I'm going to tell anybody."

His cousin blinked, then blinked again. "You... You won't?"

"Why?" He asked instead of responding to her directly. His pupiless gaze bored into hers until she finally broke.

"For... For Naruto-kun," She replied softly, her cheeks pinking. Neji wondered if she even realized that a sappy smile was crawling across her face now. She snapped out of her romantic stupor a moment later and actually turned back to the shelves of scrolls to resume her mission, leaving her cousin to wonder at the turnabout in behavior. Her next words came out a fraction firmer as she renewed her search. "Naruto-kun needs a solid clone technique."

Neji watched, slightly dumbfounded as she picked through another set of scrolls, eventually picking one out , uncapping it's protective sheath to be viewed at length. She appeared to scan its unfurled contents briefly before rerolling it, returning it to it sheath and stowing it her bag. _How many does she have already?_ The branch heir wondered as she returned to her picking. _And... for Naruto?_

She was taking a risk. A very big risk. The risk wasn't in breaking into the vault. If that came to light, he suspected that her father would actually applaud her initiative. The risk was in who she was helping. Just giving family techniques away was bad enough. Giving them to last in class Uzumaki was tantamount to treason if he had judged the mood of the adults around them correctly, even if he had no idea why.  
_  
She has to know her position as heir is hardly unassailable_, the genin pondered, reviewing Hinata's behavior even as he oversaw her activities in the here and now. Hiashi had a backup. Hanabi. As clan head, he could strip Hinata of her rights and simply replace her with the younger sister. _Wouldn't put it past him either_, Neji determined, but was still left with the overriding question as to why the girl before him was taking such a huge—

Sudden realization hit him like wall of bricks. The flush on her cheeks. The smile. The sudden resurgence of her will to fight during the exam match. Her nervousness in Naruto's very presence.

"You_ like_ him." Neji Hyuuga realized, as if not believing the conclusion himself. Hinata Hyuuga stiffened abruptly with the statement, all but freezing in place with wide eyes. It was all the confirmation he needed, but he still couldn't think of damn thing to say in light of that singular revelation. Hinata Hyuuga, heiress to the premier bloodline in all of Konoha having feelings for the last in class _Uzumaki? _If that wasn't scandal enough for the clan, supplying him with Hyuuga techniques would all but ensure Hiashi stripping her of any hereditary claim she had.

Hinata resumed her search, if in a somewhat stiffer manner than her previous efforts, breaking Neji's train of thought. After another minute of silent work she simply nodded, almost mechanically. Her voice came out softly; almost in a whisper.

"Naruto-kun needs a solid clone technique."

And that alone said it all. Neji just watched as she moved further down the row, studying candidates for retrieval as she did. The branch heir shook his head at the injustice of it all. His fate had once been certain. There was but one path to follow and one outcome assured, yet it had all been thrown to the wind by one obnoxious blond with a marked inability to dress sensibly. Nor had he been the only vicitm, apparently._ Neither the first, nor the last_, Neji observed of himself as Hinata's scroll hunting continued.

Every bit of logic screamed not to help the girl who was not simply a rival, but heir to everything he hated about the Hyuuga. It told him to slip an anonymous note quietly to Hiashi and watch it all burn to the ground.

But.

Even if he could somehow commit to that betrayal, there was one person he owed; even if that person was not the girl before him. With that final thought, Neji Hyuuga simply nodded and turned away.

"Then I'll ensure you're not disturbed."

* * *

Fifteen minutes after midnight, Naruto Uzumaki stumbled into the west wing of the dorm he call home, though technically it was the academy's transient housing section with few permanent residents. Had the blond thought on the matter more, he would have wondered to ask why he was the only permanent resident, but such had been his life for as far back as he could remember and he rarely gave it a second thought as he clumsily fished through his dirt caked orange jacket for the room key. The stairs up to his second story room were likewise negotiated in a similarly lethargic manner, and he stumbled twice on the way up, dropping the key, retracing three steps in its retrieval and yawning as he did so, ultimately renewing his ascent.

Kakashi's punishment had indeed been a punishment, though perhaps not in the way he had originally envisioned. The goal had been to ply hard labor to the teen in order to illustrate a lesson. In that, the Team Seven lead had been successful. Where his plan had fallen down was in the fact that this was Naruto Uzumaki, a Kyuubi powered chakra reactor capable of dispensing shadow clones by the dozens without even feeling it. While Kakashi's methodology may have been faulty, the punishment had a much more insidious impact on the boy in question...

_...It bored him out of his skull._

It wasn't simply boring work, it was _mind numbingly boring work_. There was nobody to talk to. No Sasuke to taunt. No Sakura to fawn over. He wasn't even allowed to entertain himself with a shadow clone. Civilian traffic was already minimal in the battle stricken district, and once the other teams and on-site construction crews went home, he was all that was left. By himself. To clean out thirty two buildings. Ordinarily the possibility of ducking out for some mischief would have come to mind, but his position was perilous to say the least. He had been caught. Or maybe he had been caught. Naruto still wasn't sure which, but the very last thing he was about to do is give Kakashi an excuse to probe his initial screw up any deeper.

So he worked alone. For nearly ten, excruciatingly boring hours.

The boy that stepped into the second story hallway was not the same one that had exited so long ago this morning. This particular Naruto was nothing short of a complete mess. His dirt crusted, splotch soiled appearance could have easily been mistaken for a hard day of training, while his normally spikey hair had dulled under the dust and grime of his activities. He passed the hallway's sole source of light, a hanging lamp that housed the only bulb still labored to provide steady illumination where four of its other brethren had failed over time. Naruto paid it no mind as he passed, more focused on the simple act of putting one foot in front of-

Naruto stopped, suddenly wide awake.

Even in the meager light, he could see it: _A box_. A pristine white box wrapped in colorful pastel ribbons sitting at the foot of his door. The blond genin scrunched his eyes, rubbing them to ensure he wasn't hallucinating, yet the box remained defiant. He stared at it for several moments as if it couldn't possibly exist before taking one deliberate step forward, then another. Two more steps and he stood before it, its glistening ribbons all but begging to tugged. It was still next to impossible, but it almost looked like _a present_. The concept was so alien that it bypassed his normal urges to rend the carefully wrapped box of its delicate ribbons and violently liberate whatever was inside... For _at least_ thirty seconds.

Forty two seconds, however, required a super human level of patience that the young Uzumaki did not possess and the boy all but dove for it, stripping the box of it's pearl white wrapping and sending its pastel trappings flying as he sought entry. The lid to the now compromised container was flung aside and Naruto reached through a layer of fluffy orange tissue to grasp... _A scroll?_ Naruto stared at the cylinder in his hand, blinking at the equally unlikely find. He glanced back at the box, retrieving a previously discarded card tied to the ribbons.

_To: Naruto Uzumaki_

That was it. He flipped the small card over, finding the reverse blank before returning his study to it's face and the flowing, graceful script adorning it. The single known he could positively discern was that the handwriting was too pretty to be a guy's. As a corollary to that thought, he knew for a fact that it wasn't Sakura's either, whose handwriting he knew by heart. The question persisted for several minutes before curiosity finally got the better of him and he untied the cord binding the scroll, allowing its parchment contents to flow to his feet. Naruto scanned through it, making little sense of what he was reading for the first five minutes before several of its components began to mentally drop into place.

Parts of it were similar to what he had learned in the academy, but far more complex in nature. Other portions resembled a certain S-Class technique that he used regularly. The realization of what he was holding hit him with an audible gasp, and a slow, victorious smile began to crawl across his face. Adrenaline flowed and anticipation shown like a light in Naruto's blue eyes, the day's mental fatigue suddenly forgotten. His mysterious benefactor was still unknown, but one thing was certain:

Sleep could wait.

He had time to kill and a new technique to kill it with.

* * *

**Author's notes:** Wow, has it been that long? Sure has, but such is the life of a low priority fic. I can't promise anything in terms of timeframes, but I can assure you this one is alive and well. Not much in the way of AN's so catch you later.

**Who's that redhead?** _If there's still any question in either the intro or the telling, yes, that's Naruto._

**Yaoi?** _No. I am not a purveyor of fine yaoi products, of which there seems to be a glut of in naruto fics in general. Yuri, on the other hand, is a Russian I am familiar with._

**Matches?** _Yep. And some fire too. I can't come outright and say who, just that the chapter has some decent foreshadowing._

**Foreshadowing?** _A telltale sign of quality fanfiction. Maybe. Actually, I offer no guarantees on that whatsoever :)_

**Special thanks;** _DD for editing services rendered. It's been a year, but I know DCG made a snide comment or two, so I'll put him here as well. Holyknight, too, for continuity rolls_ ;D


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